Early box office results put the opening day gross for Terminator Salvation at $13.37 million. That Thursday figure includes the midnight screenings which netted approximately $3 million.
If Terminator Salvation can hold steady through Memorial Day weekend then receipts totaling upwards of $70 million or more are not out of the question. With an estimated budget of $200 million or north, strong ticket sales will need to continue for several weeks domestically and then put forth an encore performance overseas when the flick opens in early June.
Terminator’s biggest competition over the next few weeks might come from already released Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The next comparable big effects film geared towards guys doesn’t hit until late June when Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen wipes the floor with the competition. No, I don’t count Land of the Lost in the same league.
By the time Memorial Day concludes, Terminator Salvation might be looking up in the box office rankings at Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Never underestimate the power of family fare and Ben Stiller.
